The end of the year is often a time of many events -- wrapping up business for the year while also wrapping holiday presents. This article presents something you can give to yourself -- something that you can get done during the holiday lull or over some vacation days -- a quick and easy process for examining what you've accomplished in your career this year and where you want to go with it next year.
Of course, you may have already done at least some preliminary work on reviewing the year -- especially if your employer hands out year-end bonuses or conducts year-end performance reviews -- and if so, that's a good place to start your year-end review.
But unlike your on-the-job performance review, the purpose of this article is to suggest you consider conducting an even more important assessment -- taking stock of your career. Now is the perfect time to review where you are, where you've been, and where you want to go.
Before you begin your assessment, take a moment to ask yourself the most important question: Am I happy and fulfilled by my job and career? No matter how successful you've been in the past 11 months, if you are fundamentally unhappy with your work, spend the vast majority of
Don't rush your review. Consider using a weekend or one or more of your vacation days to reflect on your career. You don't need to -- and probably shouldn't -- complete all six steps in one sitting. Break it up over several days if you like.
Step One: Review Career Goals. Did you set any goals for your career this year -- formally or informally? Most people have some idea of what they want to accomplish next in their careers, such as getting a promotion and/or raise or perhaps achieving better work/life balance. Setting some goals is an important activity because goals help provide the focus you need to move your career forward -- and to avoid distractions or activities that may slow your career progress (or worse, devalue you). So, if you had any goals for this year, answer these questions:
* Did I achieve my career goals?
* Am I satisfied with what I did relative to my goals?
* Did anything happen to change my goals over the course of the year?
* How should I modify my goals for next year?
Step Two: Review Your Career Year. What have you done this year? This step is about documenting your career progression and identifying key achievements. Thinking about all you've done over the past 11 months or so, ask yourself these questions:
* What have I accomplished?
* What new skills have I acquired?
* What have I learned?
* What opportunities were gained and lost?
* How am I better today than I was at the beginning of the year?
Step Three: Develop Your Career Synopsis. Where are you in your career? Review all aspects of your career and examine where you stand at this juncture. Some questions to ask yourself:
* Am I where I should be in my career?
* What has helped or hindered my progression?
* Am I happy with my current employer?
* What are my strengths and weakness?
Step Four: Envision Your Future. What's your next career step? Take some time to plan for next year (and perhaps beyond), picturing the path you want your career to take. Again, here are some questions to help you:
* What do I want to be doing more of in my career?
* What do I want to be doing less of in my career?
* What's the next step in my career?
* When should I be taking this next step?
* What's my ideal/ultimate career dream?
Step Five: Action Steps for Your Future. How will you get to that future career? Make a list of what you need to do -- career goals for the coming year -- to get to where you want to be next in your career. These might be things such as building your network, gaining additional experiences, changing employers, strengthening your career brand, or pursuing additional training/education/certifications. Questions to ask yourself:
* What do I need to prepare myself for this next step?
* Do I need to find a new employer to make the next step?
* How do I position myself for this next step?
Step Six: Share Your Career Vision. Are your career goals and action plans feasible? Schedule a meeting with your mentors and to get reactions to your plan, as well as advice for achieving it.
Final Thoughts
Once you've completed these six steps, you should not only know yourself and your career better, but have some specific goals and action steps to help you progress along a career plan.
Another benefit from completing this year-end review is that the results from part of the analysis should assist you in updating your resume if you have not been keeping it current as the year progressed. Even if you are extremely happy with your employer, it makes sense to have a current resume for that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, or worse, if your employer decides its time to downsize the workforce.
年底事情多，一邊忙著節(jié)日送禮，一邊還要忙著做年終總結。你可以把這篇文字作為送給自己的一份禮物。你可以挑個節(jié)日空閑時間，或者干脆用幾天假期對過去一年的工作做個回顧，同時展望一下明年的計劃。
你可能已經(jīng)做過一些基本的回顧了，特別是在老板給你發(fā)年終獎的時候，或者是在做全年業(yè)績匯報的時候。如果是這樣的話，那就更好了，你可以在此基礎上開始你的個人年終工作總結。
但是，這個總結和你做的業(yè)績匯報不同，它是用來觀察評估你的職業(yè)生涯的，具有更重要的評估功能?，F(xiàn)在是時候開始回顧你的職業(yè)生涯了，你現(xiàn)在處于什么位置，你都做過些什么，你將往何處去。
your year-end review focusing on self-assessment and discovering your career passion.
在你開始評估之前，花點時間捫心自問一下這個最重要的問題：我的工作和職業(yè)能讓我感到快樂和滿足嗎?如果你工作得不開心，那么無論過去一年你取得了多少成就，你都應該在年終總結中，花大力氣去做自我評估并找尋你的工作熱情。
不要急著去寫總結。可以用一周甚至更久去好好思考回顧一下你的職業(yè)生涯。你不需要，也最好不要一下子就把這六步全部完成。慢慢來，一步一步來。
第一步：回顧職業(yè)目標。今年你有沒有為自己定下過職業(yè)目標，無論是正式的還是非正式的?大多數(shù)人都會為自己的職業(yè)定個目標，比如獲得升職加薪，或者能更好地平衡工作和生活。設定目標是很重要的，因為它可以使你集中注意力，而不分心，或者減慢你的職業(yè)進程(甚至更壞，使你掉價)。如果你曾經(jīng)為今年的工作定下過目標，那就回答以下幾個問題：
我達到我的職業(yè)目標了嗎?
我對自己做的與職業(yè)目標相關的事情滿意嗎?
在過去的一年里，有沒有什么事情改變了我的職業(yè)目標?
我該怎么樣去完善我明年的職業(yè)目標?
第二步：回顧一年工作。你今年都做了些什么?這一步是用來理清你的職業(yè)發(fā)展過程的，并且明確你都取得了哪些重要成績。仔細想想你過去的11個月里都做了哪些工作，或者回答下列問題：
我取得了哪些成績?
我學會了什么新的技能?
我學到了些什么?
我得到了哪些機會，又失去了哪些機會?
現(xiàn)在的我比今年年初的我好在了哪里?
第三步：完善你的職業(yè)概要。你處于職業(yè)生涯的什么位置?對你的職業(yè)生涯進行全面的評估，并且確定你現(xiàn)在所處的位置。你可以問自己下面這些問題：
我有沒有達到自己職業(yè)生涯應該達到的位置?
是什么幫助了或者阻礙了我的職業(yè)發(fā)展?
我對現(xiàn)在的雇主是否滿意?
我的優(yōu)勢和劣勢是什么?
第四步：展望你的職業(yè)前景。你職業(yè)生涯的下一步是什么?花點時間制定明年(甚至更長遠)的計劃，在腦中畫出一幅你未來職業(yè)生涯的藍圖。這里也為你準備了一些問題：
在接下來的工作中，我要多做些什么?
在接下來的工作中，我要少做些什么?
我職業(yè)生涯的下一步是什么?
我什么時候要邁出下一步?
我最終的職業(yè)夢想是什么?
第五步：如何行動完成未來規(guī)劃。你要如何完成未來職業(yè)規(guī)劃?列張表，寫清楚你要做些什么，也就是你明年的職業(yè)目標，你明年想要達到職業(yè)生涯的哪一階段。這些事情包括建立你自己的交際圈，獲得更多的經(jīng)驗，換老板，強化你的職業(yè)品牌，或者參加更多的培訓、學習，多獲得些資格證書。問自己這些問題：
要達到下一步，我要做些什么準備?
要達到下一步，我是不是應該換一個雇主?
對于下一步，我是如何給自己定位的?
第六步：分享你的職業(yè)愿景。你的職業(yè)目標和行動計劃是否可行?和你的導師約個時間，看看別人對你的計劃作何回應，也聽聽他們的意見。
結語
一旦你完成了以上六步，你不但對自己和自己的職業(yè)生涯有了一個更好的了解，而且為接下來的職業(yè)規(guī)劃確定了明確的目標和行動步驟。
這份年終總結的另一個好處在于你可以把其中一部分的分析用于更新你的簡歷，如果你不是一直在更新的話。即使你對現(xiàn)在的老板很滿意，你也可以利用這個千載難逢的好機會來更新一下你的簡歷，以防萬一你老板突然決定要裁員。
